A Texas private investigator claims he knows who really killed Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman in 1994. And it wasn’t OJ Simpson.

In a new book, ‘OJ is Innocent and I Can Prove It,’ William C. Dear alleges Simpson went on trial, and was acquitted of murder, in an effort to deflect attention from the true killer: His son Jason. Dear says Simpson was at the crime scene — but not until after his ex-wife and her friend had been stabbed to death.

After a 17-year investigation, Dear says he has found circumstantial evidence that links Jason Simpson, 41, to the murders. The private eye claims he dug through Jason Simpson’s garbage and his abandoned storage locker in search of new evidence, the New York Post reported.

In the search, Dear says he found a hunting knife that forensic experts say is the murder weapon that was never recovered during the police investigation. He also found photographs of Jason Simpson wearing a knit cap, similar to one that was discovered at the crime scene.

Prosecutors were unable to definitely link the hat to OJ Simpson, though hairs similar to his were found inside. Dear calls Jason Simpson ‘the overlooked suspect’ and produced a documentary film released in 2010 detailing the accusations that he is the real culprit behind the murder.

During the screening of his film in 2011 he displayed a suspected murder weapon from the night of June 12, 1994 at the DocMiami Film Festival. Dear says two months before the murders, Jason Simpson assaulted his girlfriend. The chef also deals with ‘intermittent rage disorder,’ according to the New York Post. ‘That person who was wielding and welding that knife, had to know exactly what he was doing and he certainly had to be familiar with a knife. OJ wasn’t,’ Mr Dear said in his documentary.

Despite these alleged findings, Jason Simpson’s DNA and fingerprints were never compared to those found at the crime scene. He was never interviewed by police, either, the Post reports. No arrests other than Simpson’s were made in the murders.

OJ Simpson was the prime suspect for the murders because he helped to cover up his son’s crimes and, in effect, allowed himself to take the fall, the book claims. ‘The LA PD and the district attorney had made a rush to judgement,’ Mr Dear said.

At the time of the trial, Judge Lance Ito said from his bench: ‘Those who say the criminal justice system itself is on trial may be right.’ The Post could not reach Jason Simpson, who is working as a chef in Miami, for a comment. The paper reports his phone line as disconnected.

Dear, a private investigator of 30 years based in Texas, is a former Florida and Texas police officer who has been featured on Current Affair, Unsolved Mysteries and Fox TV. Other investigations he has worked on are the Exhumation of Lee Harvey Oswald, The disappearance of the Teenage Genius and the Alien Autopsy, according to his website.

According to Dear’s publisher: ‘This book includes shocking photos and new evidence about the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman, that was totally overlooked by the original investigators. Evidence that points directly to a surprising new suspect, very close to OJ.’